Safety records imply the idea that they remain with a driver or company. Those records provide regulators and hiring firms the chance to see how a person or company lives up to safety standards. Now, a trend of swapping DOT numbers and changing names is allegedly creating a massive threat on U.S. roads. At the center of the issue are what the Department of Transportation calls “Chameleon Carriers.”

 

According to trucking safety experts interviewed by 60 Minutes, these companies rack up safety violations, crashes, and failed inspections under one name. Then, before regulators can crack down, they dissolve that business, register a new one, apply for a fresh DOT number, and continue hauling freight with the same trucks, same drivers, and often the same owners.